Mixcubes – 16 Reasons to Buy

Mixcubes are one of the most important purchases you’ll ever make.

A studio owners need a few things: a way to record, good technique and acoustic treatment. However, without great monitoring, none of that does any good. Great monitoring means different things to different people. Despite those differences, one value is a persistent constant: midrange matters. I give you 16 reasons why you need mixcubes:

16 Reasons You Need Mixcubes

No Ports

The fact remains that ports mess up the low end response of a speaker. Yes, some speakers are designed really well but they exhibit drawbacks. If you already have some ported speakers then it’s a good idea to have a reference pair without them. The whole point of having multiple monitors is for exploiting their differences so shouldn’t your alternate monitors be different?

Midrange

I promised I’d talk about this. Everything that really matters in music happens in the midrange: vocals, snare, the bite of a bass, cowbell. When you produce using these, you’re emphasizing things that matter, eliminating what doesn’t and ensuring you’ll get a mix that travels.

Mix Translation

They say there are no geniuses hiding in their mom’s basement. I’d argue that neither are there hits buried in your hard drive. Eventually your six minute Polka is going to have to make it’s way across the internet and into some Ski’s ear holes via his earbuds, AirPods or laptop speakers. How are you going to ensure that your tuba is sitting fat in the midrange so he can hear it? You’re going to use mixcubes, that’s how. Mixcubes only reproduce 100Hz-4kHz with any measure of reliability. This is the same range crappy speakers work in. Therefore, when you listen on mixcubes, you listen on the worst at the same time. Check out 5 Hidden Features of mixcubes.

Imaging

Two speakers usually make a bad phantom image. Your speakers, which are unmatched and in an asymmetrical room, can’t produce a perfect mid signal. The mixcube solves this problem. The single driver actually produces a real, stable image. You can set it up to just produce mid, side, left, right, summed to mono or any combination thereof. Improve your accuracy with these puppies.

Legacy

You create in a continuum of greatness. People judge everything you release by what’s come before and what is yet to come. They say to stand on the shoulders of giants and, to do that, sometimes it helps to borrow their equipment. Thriller and Brothers In Arms were mixed using Auratones (the mixcube’s grandpa). Quincy Jones called them “The Truth Speaker.” Even today, Kendrick Lamar’s release To Pimp A Butterfly (mixed by Derek Ali) was 80% mixed on an Auratone. So, if you want a chance at lasting greatness, make sure you’ve got the tools for the job.

Mono

I hope you know what the most important part of a song is. Here’s a clue: IT’S THE VOCAL! You mix the vocal in the center. Make everything else play second fiddle. How are you going to make sure those supporting actors stay in their role? EQ the ever living bejeezus out of them while everything is summed to mono. If you have the giant piano panned left and the whole bar’s worth of background vocals panned right then you could almost be forgiven, when listening in stereo, that it’s all good: everything is separated. Then, when they play your jam at the club, the vocal is smothered under a piano and a bar’s worth of drunken idiots. You should’ve mixed in mono, Grasshopper.

Limitations

Truth always comes as a paradox. The paradox at play here is that limitations breed creativity. When you eliminate 40% of the audible range (which these speakers do) you then focus even harder on the remaining 60%. Forget about sub bass and high end sparkle, when getting a track together. Most people won’t hear those ranges anyway. Be creative where it matters.

Rooms

I remember the saying, “Everyone wants to get big but no one wants to lift heavy weight.” If you want to become a great mix engineer, the same idea applies: everyone wants to make tight records but no one wants to learn about acoustic treatment. Those modes will haunt you, regardless, but not if they’re not active. Modes ruin your life below 150Hz. Buy (or make) 10x your monitors cost in acoustic treatment before you trust your bass.

Looks

These speakers make most others look ugly. Everyone wants a dope looking studio. Put one of these ladies up and you’ll have what they desire. Get ahead of the game because vibe is money.

Steve Aoki

I know nothing about Steve Aoki other than he looks like a hippie ninja rogue and that he uses two mixcubes in his studio. He also pimps a pair of Dynaudio monitors. Do the right thing and trust the hippie ninja.

Owl City

I really try not to lie but I’ll let one slip here: I know every song of his and not just “Fireflies.” But, even if that was the only song he did, it still carries gravitas that he uses these. Rumor has it he keeps them in a jar.

Richard Devine

TheChosenOne, a YouTube user, told me who this chap is recently. Apparently, Mr. Devine associates with Warp Records and shares much of Aphex Twin’s style. That would almost be a backhanded compliment if it wasn’t so hard to achieve – especially for the time. Here he is, looking happy af, with his cubies.

Neighbors

Neighbors suck a faaaat cawk. I’m a neighbor and I accept that criticism (metaphorically). There’s only one good thing about living in an apartment: the paper thin walls actually do block some sound. Mixcubes don’t thump like subs and poorly designed Bose systems. Use these speakers and produce away to the wee hours of morn.

Frequency Response

Avantone did a good job of making these pretty flat. I tested these in my room and they perform well. They also lack a crossover, because there’s only one speaker. Often, two-way enclosures crossover right in the middle of the vocal range. That’s obviously a terrible thing and this system circumvents it.

Hexspa Approved

My opinion matters, m’kay. I took a long while to research what made these so popular. On the surface, it makes no sense: want great sound then get a crappy-sounding speaker. However, you can see that there’s much more to it than farcical statements.

I just gave you 16 reasons why you need mixcubes. Add one of these to your setup because they don’t cost much; the price might even go up. Head over to Amazon now to get better mixes.